The considerable ownership by individual investors in Candel Therapeutics indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
A total of 24 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
To get a sense of who is truly in control of Candel Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CADL), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 48% to be precise, is individual investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
And individual insiders on the other hand have a 30% ownership in the company. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Candel Therapeutics, beginning with the chart below.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Candel Therapeutics?
Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Candel Therapeutics. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Candel Therapeutics' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
earnings-and-revenue-growth
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Candel Therapeutics. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Estuardo Aguilar-Cordova with 9.9% of shares outstanding. Laura Aguilar is the second largest shareholder owning 9.4% of common stock, and Paul Manning holds about 7.2% of the company stock. Paul Manning, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board.
Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 24 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.
While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.
Insider Ownership Of Candel Therapeutics
The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.
Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Candel Therapeutics, Inc.. Insiders own US$63m worth of shares in the US$211m company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 48% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.
Private Equity Ownership
With a stake of 6.0%, private equity firms could influence the Candel Therapeutics board. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.
Next Steps:
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Case in point: We've spotted 7 warning signs for Candel Therapeutics you should be aware of, and 4 of them are a bit unpleasant.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
